The Falkland Islands are a United Kingdom Overseas Territory by choice. Supreme authority is vested in Her Majesty The Queen and exercised by a Governor on her behalf, with the advice and assistance of the Executive Council and Legislative Assembly.
The role of the Governor in the Overseas Territories is multi-faceted; he is the representative of HM the Queen in the Islands, and represents the UK Government to the people and the Government of the Falklands. He also represents the interests of the Falkland Islands Government (FIG) to the UK Government. He has specific responsibility for foreign affairs and defence and the integrity and independence of functions such as justice and audit. The Governor has overall responsibility to the UK Government for good governance of the Islands.
The Chief Executive is head of the Public Service and is responsible for delivering efficient and effective management of the Government. This includes the generation and analysis of strategy and policy options for Legislative Assembly Members to consider, and implementation of decisions across Government.